OSR How is Dungeon Crawler Classics?

[VashVet]

I am sure it has been discussed here before, but I am too lazy to find a thread on it xD. So far what I have read about it I really like. It looks super gritty and filled with fun variations of things. How does it play though? Is it only for dungeon crawls/short adventures or have you seen it used in longer campaigns? Tell me everything.

Gritty isn’t what I would call DCC. Gonzo is the word I associate with it. It’s more deadly than modern D&D but not moreso than other OSR games. I enjoyed the system, and I thought it was fun in short chunks but would never use it for a long term campaign - some of the magic effects are too over the top silly for my tastes.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Gritty isn’t what I would call DCC. Gonzo is the word I associate with it. It’s more deadly than modern D&D but not moreso than other OSR games. I enjoyed the system, and I thought it was fun in short chunks but would never use it for a long term campaign - some of the magic effects are too over the top silly for my tastes.

For me, the unpredictability and power magic provides is a major selling point to the game.

 

[VashVet]

For me, the unpredictability and power magic provides is a major selling point to the game.

For me, it’s a major disruption. I don’t mind some level of unpredictability but when it has setting level effects that can upend a campaign sprinkled inside, I find I have to be in a very specific frame of mind about my game to want to use that system.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's worth noting that several of the DCC iconic characters look like they've just stepped right out of a 1970s disco. Goodman is not going for gritty medieval simulation here.

 

[Distracted DM]

What's funny is that I actually like it for not-gonzo reasons. The bit that I've run it, I did so in my own "normal" dnd setting (which does have some weird and science-fantasy aspects occasionally).

Mighty Deeds make martials fun, and spellcasters' vast unpredictability is fun because I love random tables- and they get more reliable as they gain power. The only class that I didn't see a ton of appeal to was the thief- but they actually have their own minigame with managing Luck, so i guess maybe they're the most reliable of the classes because they can make use of Luck much more frequently than the other classes. And some people just like being the skulking/thief-type.

Re: it being built on the 3e chassis, don't look into it too much. It's barely recognizably 3e, to me at least.

So the game has both fun martials AND spellcasters. Unfortunately only some of my players are willing to play something not-dnd5e.

I've heard it said that the game can't work for full 1-10 campaigns but I just don't see it?

And yeah like most folk here I was disappointed with their repeated handling of JG matters. I just don't get it. The IP must mean a lot to Goodman to keep on putting up with Bledsaw straight up lying about their deals/interactions on social media, and then Goodman having to put fires out afterwards. I don't think he's aligned with Bledsaw's hatreds, so Goodman must think that the history and IP of JG products are worth the headaches and reputation hits... sigh. It makes it difficult to support GG. I hate missing out on some of their stuff but I already have more than enough DCC stuff to last me without buying anything new.

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

So it's not gritty, like a muppet ,deadly, and Joseph Goodman is a douchecanoe. Got it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

For me, it’s a major disruption. I don’t mind some level of unpredictability but when it has setting level effects that can upend a campaign sprinkled inside, I find I have to be in a very specific frame of mind about my game to want to use that system.

I don't run campaigns with a narrative in mind. We always play sandbox, so there's no necessary "plot" to upend.

 

[VashVet]

I don't run campaigns with a narrative in mind. We always play sandbox, so there's no necessary "plot" to upend.

Okay I don’t think we mean the same thing. I wasn’t talking about narrative.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Okay I don’t think we mean the same thing. I wasn’t talking about narrative.

What were you talking about then? What was being disrupted by unpredictable DCC magic?

Love your icon by the way. My favorite issue of Dragon Magazine, and first I ever picked up.

 

[VashVet]

What were you talking about then? What was being disrupted by unpredictable DCC magic?

Effects that turn whole geographic regions to stone or creates a demonic face in the caster’s chest, for instance. Just too over the top a result for my taste.